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Gypsy punks
really know how to rock
REVIEW - GOGOL BORDELLO
Astoria by GEOFFREY SAWYER
THE sight of Eugene Hutz, the skinny-but-lithesome heavily
moustachioed frontman of this stupendous band, standing semi-naked
on a big bass drum as it was passed atop the crowd after a show
of incredible intensity, is one that will linger for a while.
Gogol Bordello are simply fantastic. Their show is outstanding
and their music electric.
They are for Balkan folk music (stay with me) what the Pogues
are for Irish folk music, and then some.
It’s that wildfire gypsy music that comes from eastern
Europe with its rapid violins and accordions, but with powerful
drums, electric bass and guitar, and a front man whose lean
wiry torso and dark hair makes him a cross between Iggy Pop
and Shane McGowan, only with a droopy handle bar moustache.
The eight-strong “global collective” don’t speak
much, it’s just one great song after another, with two
female band members parading a big bass drum, symbols and washboards,
and occasionally catapulting taped-up t-shirts into the crowd.
The capacity crowd’s chatter, as they spilled into Tottenham
Court Road, was about how they had just seen their best gig
yet.
It was hard not to disagree.
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